Lean Marketing House » Kaizen

Developing a Kaizen Conscious with Shingo Prize winner Michael Balle

admin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:02:00 +0000

Michael Ballé is the co-author of, The Gold Mine, a bestselling business novel of a Lean Turnaround, and recently, The Lean Manager, a novel of a Lean Transformation both published by the Lean Enterprise Institute. For the past 15 years, he has studied lean transformations, helping companies develop a lean culture. He is an engaging and colorful public speaker, and I think you will find in the podcast, he lives up to his reputation. Great discussion on Lean Tools, Lean Systems, Thinking Processes and their relationship to management. I have never heard this take on Kaizen and the continuous improvement process before. Maybe, because it is so simple.

As a managing partner of ESG Consultants, Michael coaches executives in obtaining exceptional performance through using the lean tools, principles, and management attitudes. His main coaching technique is the “Real Place Visit,” where he helps senior executives to learn to see their own operational shop floors, teach their people the spirit of kaizen and draw the right conclusions for their business as a whole. He has assisted companies in their lean transformations in various fields such as manufacturing, engineering, construction, services, and healthcare.

When those old guys say stuff, you should listen!

How much Planning is enough – Use Lean and Standardize

It takes guts, to start with lean training in a turnaround!

Technorati : Continuous Improvement, Kaizen, Lean, Lean Tools, Systems Thinking

When those old guys say stuff, you should listen!

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0000

I am working and creating some examples for the Lean Marketing House, and I wanted to create several A3 reports on several pieces of the foundations. As I was struggling to get started, I remembered what my first Lean teacher told me: Start with 5S so that you don’t spend your time on anything wasteful and then do Standard Work. Most people know what 5S is but Standard work may confuse a few. Standard work is a simple written description of the safest, highest quality, and the most efficient way known to perform a particular process or task.

There is no secret to standard work. Watch several people do the same task and see the difference. Is there much variance built into it? Why would I care about this in marketing? Just using the procedure for creating an ad or a direct mail piece. If there is a lot of variance in the production do you think the schedule will be met? More importantly, will the best use of creative time be used or are you the type that works better under pressure!!! The key to standard work is keeping it clear and simple, so staff can quickly and accurately complete their work.

When I started doing the standard work for a procedure there really was not one in place. I know it sound kind of corny, but really go to try to create an A3 report without a standard, it was next to impossible. I thought an A# was supposed to make it easier. But the old guy was right, you have to know what you are doing before you improve on it. The photo of a Standard Work Template is provided by Systems2win.

As Taiichi Ohno said – “Where there is no standard, there can be no kaizen.”

Related Post;
Lean Marketing House Foundation

5S – I did a set of stupid Videos on 5S in marketing a while back.

How much planning is enough – Use Lean and Standardize

Value Stream Mapping

Technorati : 5S, Kaizen, Lean, Lean Marketing, Standard Work

Did you know you could draw your Value Stream Map in Excel

admin — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:32:00 +0000

People buy all these different products to do simple drawings for Value Stream Mapping using basic symbols. When they are done, they pull out the Microsoft Excel sheet and do the calculations. Sometimes they are even forced to do create their own formulas. I became familiar with Systems2win and their Value Stream Mapping tool does both, drawings and the calculations. I know that the right tool for the calculations was Excel but drawing with it?

Skeptical,think again. This is the first drawing on Youtube done with Microsoft Excel exclusively. The real amount of time it took was 12 hours and 56 minutes Special thanks to Valentina (Gracias por la paciencia T_T) and Patolín (Saludos a la distancia compadre =D)

Now, all theSystems2win Value Stream Mapping Tool ask you to do is to draw this:

Don’t be embarrassed if you can’t, but why did I ever buy Visio? By the way, some of the best collection of Excel Training videos are bundled on the System2win site along with Kaizen, Lean and Six Sigma tools.

Disclaimer: After I purchased the package, I became an Affiliate.

Technorati : , Kaizen, Six-Sigma, Value-Stream-Mapping. Lean

Making Quality pay-off BIG!

admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:27:00 +0000

Do you want to inch up the charts or do you want to leap? I think that is the greatest reason Lean-style thinking has develop Kaizan events. Focus on results and “LET’S GITER DONE!”

However, if you want to get something accomlished having a trained practicioner or Black Belt may prove very beneficial to you. This way you can be sure of adequate preparation and a toolbox full of tools that may be needed during the event. They will use a variety of tools to include Pareto Charts, Fish-Bone and Mini-Tab, Names that you may be familar with but unless you have utilized them several times, you will labor through them. Like all software and instruments, it is in the interpretation of the data is where the gold is. The instruments do not just spit out the right answer.

Peter Keen, Chairman of Keen Innovations says; “Characterizing kaizen as simply “continuous improvement” trivializes the concept and portrays it as cautious and lacking in imagination… More typically, the implementation of kaizen reflects a radical commitment to an entire way of operating that requires floor-to-ceiling change in management, work, manager-worker relationships, discipline, decision making, and the organization of knowledge that transforms an organization into a federation of problem solvers.”

These are not simple brainstorming sessions. these are orchestrated events that will allow you to put a plan of action together. Many managers are intrigued by Kaizan because it allows them to form a strong focused approach which can accelerate implemntation. I have seen some use the terminology a beachhead for their project implementation. Also, another important ingredient is having people at the event that can make a decision. It is not meant to be an event that you have to seek approval. However, if you want to jumpstart your quality inititatives, start with Kaizen.

Technorati : Kaizen, Lean, Marketing, Quality, Six-sigma